Concerns regarding empty banks, declining birth rates, and emigration are contributing to the closure of schools across Kosovo. In the village of Debëllde, located in Viti, the local schoolyard is notably empty. This absence of children is not due to a temporary summer recess; the area is devoid of both students and teaching staff.
The school has been shuttered for four years due to a lack of resident children enrolled in classes. Previously, it operated as a satellite school affiliated with the “Ndre Mjeda” Primary School in Kabash. The facility last saw students in 2022, when it had only four enrolled pupils.
Subsequently, the remaining families departed the village. According to a witness speaking to Radio Free Europe, “From that moment, teaching could no longer be developed, and the Education Directorate [of the Viti Municipality] decided that the school in Debëllde would close.” This situation signals a broader trend, where demographic shifts are causing educational infrastructure to become redundant, leaving behind an alarmingly empty landscape in rural communities.
Topics: #empty #school #alarm
